According to Vedanta, soul is covered with five koshas.
Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vigyanamaya and anandmaya. Hence, when anybody
crosses the demands and bondage of any kosha, he goes higher and higher and
deeper and deeper in the attainment of knowledge. The highest value is the
state of mukti (liberation of the soul from the bondage of the cycle of birth
and rebirth) and the union with God, the Brahman. Thus the hierarchy of values
exists according to Indian philosophies.
According to the Upanishads the main aim is moksha which is
acquired by the acquisition of knowledge, the performance of social and
religious duties and above all the formation of character.
The Indian doctrine of four
Purusarthas is a comprehensive theory of human values. The four Purusarthas
are:
Dharma : Moral value such as duties, virtues, etc.
Artha : Wealth and political values.
Kama : Happiness and Aesthetic joy.
Moksa : Liberation or true Self-realization.
The term “Purusarthas” suggests that man consciously and
knowingly seeks the realization of values. Hence they are human values. They
are not merely desired by man but they are desirables. They are worth-while
experiences or objects. Human awareness of them and their deliberate pursuit
makes them human values or Purusarthas. Thus Purusarthas are human values
because they are consciously sought by human beings. Besides, they fulfill the
specifically human needs and interests. They also do justice to all sorts of
demands which stem from man’s multidimensional self or personality.[1]
Ved Vyas says in Shanti parva, “The man of dharma removes
all the impurities of mind and all stains from his heart. He is free from
falsehood and does always good to all.” In Dharma everything is established -
the five qualities preceding Dharma are truth, tapas or spirituality, shama
i.e. control of senses, dama - control of mind and lastly daan or alms giving.[2]
In the following diagram we see the four stages
of human life depicted in Vedas. At the certain age there is a fixed goal which
is to be achieved. We the human should go on this path and we can definitely
achieve the Moksha, the summum bonum of our life.[3]